Jeonju Korean BBQ with a self-serve banchan bar: Ubookgeum Saenggalbi

A brand-new Jeonju meat restaurant right in front of the Lotte Department Store! Beef short ribs, pork short ribs, and both beef and pork marinated galbi too — a place for anyone who loves galbi to get a proper meat feast. Here's my review of Ubookgeum Saenggalbi Seosin Branch, a Seosin-dong restaurant.

Where is Ubookgeum Saenggalbi Seosin Branch, and where do you park?

Ubookgeum Saenggalbi Seosin Branch is at 26 Ongoeul-ro, Wansan-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeonbuk, 1F 101-102, right across from the Lotte Department Store in Seosin-dong. It's open daily from 11:00 to 23:00, with a break time from 14:00 to 17:00, and last order at 22:30.

The area in front of the Lotte Department Store in Seosin-dong, Jeonju is always packed, so I was a bit worried — but not at Ubookgeum. They cover a 2-hour voucher (evening rate) for the spacious K Parking lot right across the street, so I parked with zero stress and just enjoyed the meal.

Haha, I've driven down this road so many times living in Jeonju. I remember this spot used to be an all-you-can-eat galbi place — now it's brand-new Ubookgeum Saenggalbi! Actually it goes even further back to a dakbal (chicken wing) place, lol, feels like ancient history.

They also have a solid lineup of lunch specials — great for office workers nearby, lunch or dinner. Actually when I went for an early weekday dinner, once quitting time hit, groups of office workers started pouring in. A real Seosin-dong meat spot.

Inside Ubookgeum Saenggalbi: seating and room for a group dinner

Inside Ubookgeum Saenggalbi Seosin Branch, the wide tables are neatly arranged and each table has a tablet ordering system. There's a long row of seating further in, making it well-suited for group dinners too.

Inside the restaurant — wide, neatly arranged tables. Each table has its own tablet ordering system, and the long seating area in back is perfect for a company dinner. Of course, it's just as good for a family meal like mine, haha.

From the country-of-origin labels to the chilled plum tea and sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch) for dessert, everything is ready to go, haha. They use US prime rib choice-grade beef and only Korean pork (handon) — a proper meat restaurant.

The self-serve banchan bar, myeongi namul included

At Ubookgeum Saenggalbi Seosin Branch you can freely help yourself to extra side dishes at the self-serve corner. It's stocked with a variety of banchan (side dishes) that go well with meat, plus myeong-i namul (mountain leek pickle) at the self-serve bar. The wide variety of accompanying side dishes was another thing I liked about this Jeonju meat restaurant.

And a good range of drinks too, haha. Disposable aprons are provided as well. I heard the crab jjigae (stew) side dish is famous and delicious, but since I was there with my kid and it's spicy and sharp, I skipped it this time. Save it for when the adults get together... that day!!

They also run a decent receipt review event — and after ordering, I noticed they even have naengmyeon (cold noodles), lol. Feels like a lot of perks packed into one visit! I might try the review event next time, haha. As soon as we ordered, they brought over the charcoal, already nicely prepped.

Free steamed egg custard and spicy bean sprout salad

At Ubookgeum Saenggalbi Seosin Branch, steamed egg custard comes as a basic side dish, with extra portions at ₩2,000. The bean sprout salad was quite spicy and came in a generous portion — a nice touch.

The basic doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) is tasty enough on its own, so I can only imagine how good the crab jjigae must be. What's unique here is the bean sprout salad — really spicy and served in a big portion! And steamed egg custard comes as a default side. Extra egg custard is just ₩2,000... totally great, no need to worry about kid-friendly side dishes here!

Fresh beef short ribs: 500g for 58,000 won

The beef short ribs at Ubookgeum Saenggalbi Seosin Branch come as a 500g plate for ₩58,000, with a 250g half plate also available. The meat arrives already separated from the bone and prepped, and staff will keep grilling it for you if they're not too busy.

And here it is, today's main event — beef short ribs! Eating beef this way feels a bit unusual, but galbi just tastes even better this way. The staff kept an eye on the grill for us whenever they weren't busy, and it was already up on the grill before we knew it.

A full plate is 500g! A half plate of 250g is also available. Such a gorgeous, appetizing color on this beef galbi, haha. It's cut off the bone nicely for you — just grill and enjoy. They even shared tips on grilling, warning us not to overcook it or the flavor drops.

Is Ubookgeum Saenggalbi good for a meal with kids?

Ubookgeum Saenggalbi Seosin Branch has baby chairs and kids' tableware ready to go. My kid happily ate steamed egg custard mixed into rice, and we cut the short ribs into small pieces to share.

Baby chair and kid's tableware were both ready. I got a fork and spoon, mixed the egg custard into rice, and my little one ate it right up! On top of that, cutting up the short ribs into small pieces to share made for a satisfying meal.

Beef definitely looks sexier once it's on the grill. Individually wrapped spoons and chopsticks are a nice, tidy touch, and the variety of dipping sauces made it even more delicious.

Deliciously prepped beef short ribs, cut and ready to go. A place where you can really enjoy juicy, appetizing beef short ribs!

Seriously dripping with juice. It's confirmed... beef is beef. Pork galbi is delicious too, but beef is beef, lol. So good!

Bibim naengmyeon at 7,000 won, and the portion is huge

The bibim naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles) is ₩7,000 and the portion is genuinely huge. It was a great pairing with the beef short ribs at Ubookgeum Saenggalbi Seosin Branch.

We also got the bibim naengmyeon, which pairs perfectly with the meat and tastes great. And the portion is seriously huge, lol. It would make a solid lunch dish on its own too — now I understand why they have those lunch special sets.

I asked separately for wasabi and they brought it over — I love eating meat with wasabi, so this was great, and the individual dipping sauce plates made for a good combo too!! The pairing of delicious meat with a variety of accompaniments was excellent.

The garlic comes whole, so it cooked through nicely right on the grill! For anyone who wants good-quality meat, I recommend this delicious raw galbi restaurant — a great Jeonju meat spot! Highly recommend for beef short ribs!!!

Restrooms are shared within the building! Men's and women's restrooms are separate :)

Menu board as of September 2026~!